When asked what keeps Jamie Stern and her husband Phil in the area, close to Phil's father's farm, she had a simple answer.

"Really good neighborhoods and nice community," Jamie Stern said.

But the Sterns, Mount Haley Township residents, aren't the only ones rating rural life in Midland County as excellent.

Progressive Farmer magazine has ranked Midland County as the best rural county to live in the state, the seventh best in the Midwest and 29th best in the nation overall.

The counties are ranked through a statistical study. Numbers come in various categories, including cost of living, crime rate, air quality, health care access, education and leisure activities. The statistics are calculated by OnBoard LLC, a demographic research firm that works with Money magazine on their best places to live list.

Phil Stern never strayed far from his roots, growing up in the rural part of Homer Township. Even after graduating from Michigan State University, getting married and having kids of his own, he stayed close to his family's Homer Township cattle farm.

Many of the things on the survey ring true for his family of four. Educational access has given three of the family members convenient choices.

Phil Stern spent some time at Delta College before deciding on a degree in animal science from MSU. Having educational opportunities close allowed him to still work at his farm and help his father, John Stern, with coaching wrestling at Bullock Creek, along with saving him money.

Now, Jamie Stern is in a medical assistant program at Davenport University, focusing on phlebotomy- drawing blood for laboratory studies. Phil Stern still works at his father's farm to help out, but his primary job is an as area manager for Agri-King, traveling and working with area farmers supplying nutrition products for their animals.

The two trade off taking care of the kids, Taylor, 6, and Grace, almost 1.

Taylor goes to kindergarten at Floyd Elementary, which is in the same district from which her father graduated and at which her grandfather taught. Jamie Stern, a Farwell High School graduate, also likes the district.

Safety is a big concern for both parents, especially when they considered where to raise their kids.

"It's a pretty quiet area as far as crime goes," Phil Stern said. "If there were robberies and shootings every week in our front yard, I wouldn't be living here any more."

Safety along with a nice balance of peace and nearby people are attractive features of the area, the two said.

"We have the convenience of having privacy, but then there's people close enough so if something were to happen or so the kids can play with the neighbors," Jamie Stern said.

This was apparent during Thursday's storm and the subsequent power outage it caused around the county.

"We had several neighbors call and see if we were out and if we needed anything. Community wise, people are really nice around here," she said. "They seem to be more laid-back, not worried around rushing around. People try to help each other."

This attitude of helping each other is important to Jamie Stern when it comes to raising her children. Working closely with the family farm also teaches the kids the importance of caring for others, whether they're people or animals.

"We had a really close relationship with the neighborhood kids growing up. I've always wanted my kids to have that same kind of environment," Phil Stern said.

As for cost of living, the Sterns find it affordable to live in the area, although development is driving up land prices, making it risky to start their own farm. The two plan on helping out with the family farm and eventually taking it over. They have no plans of vacating the county.

"I like the area, the people I live around. I can't really complain about the kind of neighbors we have," Phil Stern said.

Progressive Farmer is a subscription-only magazine catering to those who live in rural America and own land, not just farmers.

The list can be seen on their website at www.progressivefarmer.com, along with a feature where users can put in criteria important to them and the site will calculate the best county for the individual's taste.